I have had a few recipes for gougeres that just don't work right. This does.... very simply, bring the water and butter to a boil, dump in the flour, stir until it forms a ball and leaves a "track" on the bottom of the pan. Then, I dump it HOT, into the food processor, whirl it for a few seconds, then add the eggs, (still HOT) one at a time with the machine going.... then, add the cheese, I use a small scoop and a silpat to make them a uniform size. VOILA! about 22 minutes later, absolutely perfect gougeres!
The initial temperature of the oven when you are putting them in needs to be very hot. That will create steam on which the choux relies to puff. Lower the temperature after a while for the rest of the cooking time to prevent them from burning.
Oh, you're so right. You're probably right at sea level, so scratch that as a suggestion. I'm going to go with guess (b) that you may have added too many eggs, or that the choux paste wasn't COMPLETELY cooled before you began adding them. If it was still too warm, some of the essential protein was likely compromised. Alternatively, guess (c) buy an oven thermometer. It's much cheaper than calling for a repair. Figure out by how many degrees your oven is off, and set it accordingly. Persevere!
thank you boulangere! I live in Rhode Island, so I'm not quite sure that is an issue. I'm now thinking my oven may not be at the right temp - time to get it recalibrated. Maybe that is it?
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